1. Field of Invention
The Present invention relates to an improvement in a method and apparatus for regulating heater cycles to improve fuel efficiency.
2. Related Art
The present inventor has three US Patents on regulating cycles to improve efficiency. These are: U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,284 to Hammer issued Oct. 26, 1999 for an Apparatus For Regulating Heater Cycles To Improve Forced-Air Heating System Efficiency;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,639 to Hammer on Oct. 5, 1999 for an Apparatus for regulating compressor cycles to improve air conditioning/refrigeration unit efficiency; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,582, issued to Hammer on Jul. 7, 1998 for a Method and apparatus for regulating heater cycles to improve fuel efficiency All the teachings of all these patents are hereby incorporated by reference.
Of these, U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,582, ('582) . . . for regulating heater cycles to improve fuel efficiency is the most relevant, and is the method and device on which the present invention improves. It is a method and apparatus for improving heating system efficiency. An electronic circuit senses a firing signal from a boiler energy value sensor such as a thermostat or pressuretrol. The circuit prevents the boiler energy value sensor from firing the burner, while the circuit senses an energy value of the outflow line at the boiler. The circuit monitors the outflow energy value and records the outflow energy value at a first time of the firing signal. The circuit then continually monitors the outflow energy until it detects an energy drop from the initial outflow energy value. The circuit responds to the energy drop by firing the burner. The invention self adaptively responds to present thermal load, reduces the number of on-off cycles, increases each burner run time while reducing total run time, improves fuel consumption, and reduces air pollution.
Other improvements to the '582 invention have been made prior to this application.
The Hammer device has achieved commercial success as the IntelliCon7-LCH LIGHT COMMERCIAL HYDRONIC HEATING SYSTEM ECONOMIZER.